The Rubberbandits

The Rubberbandits
Blindboy Boatclub (left) and Mr Chrome (right)
Background information
Origin	Limerick, Ireland
Genres	Comedy hip hop, hip hop, satire, prank phone calls
Years active	2000–present
Website	therubberbandits.com
Members	Dave Chambers Bob McGlynn

The Rubberbandits are an Irish comedy hip-hop duo from Limerick city. They consist of Blindboy Boatclub (real name Dave Chambers) and Mr Chrome (sometimes Bobby Chrome; real name Bob McGlynn). During performances and interviews, they conceal their identities with masks made from plastic shopping bags. They are often accompanied by DJ Willie O'DJ, a silent masked caricature of local politician Willie O'Dea (portrayed by several consecutive men, including Spin South West DJ Paul Webb). The group describe themselves as artists, and have dubbed their movement as "Gas Cuntism".

Chambers and McGlynn met while attending Ardscoil Rís, Limerick. Primarily a satirical stage and television act, they have performed throughout Ireland, the UK and the US with shows at events such as Electric Picnic,Oxegen and the Bulmers International Comedy Festival. The Rubberbandits first rose to prominence in December 2010, when their music video, "Horse Outside", went viral on YouTube. They have since won awards for both their music and comedy. In 2011, the duo were declared "Best Irish Act" at the entertainment.ie awards, and also won an IFTA award for "Horse Outside".

The duo have also been involved in television, creating sketches for RTÉ, MTV and Channel 4, writing and starring in a Channel 4 comedy pilot, and writing and narrating the ITV2 series The Almost Impossible Gameshow. In 2016, they created The Rubberbandits' Guide to Everything, a mockumentary TV series for RTÉ.

Formed in the early 2000s, the Rubberbandits initial exposure arose from recorded prank phonecalls. These prank calls featured on a number of Irish and international radio stations, and became something of a memetic phenomenon in Ireland in the early 2000s. These phonecalls were their primary content until they became a musical stage act in 2007 - though they continued to use prank recordings as part of their stage act.